


Two Quarters

by kenshincha



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1980s, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Arcades, First Meetings, Humor, Inspired by Stranger Things (TV 2016), Kid Fic, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 13:42:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14450463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenshincha/pseuds/kenshincha
Summary: Steve and Tony meet as kids in an arcade.





	Two Quarters

**Author's Note:**

> I asked my friend for a prompt, and this is what she gave me. Why yes, she is a fan of Stranger Things. How did you know? 
> 
> Set in the 80's. They're about 12. I put them as a pairing, but they're kids so nothing inappropriate happens, if you were worried.
> 
> I'm posting this before I see Infinity War. I'm not sure if I'll survive.

The arcade was dark, but the lights on all the machines were bright, blinking with the sounds of dings and music. Sometimes a distorted voice would say something you couldn't even understand.

The two quarters had grown warm from being clenched in Steve's hand so long. They were the only quarters he had for the week, and he didn't want to waste them.

He usually played The First Avenger for a quarter a play. He was great at that game. Even with only a few quarters every time, he had the highest score. But...

He stood in front of the Invincible Iron Man box, which didn't cost a quarter to play. It cost two.

Captain America was his favorite character ever. He didn't have a lot of comics, but his friend Sam let him read all of his. Captain America was big and strong and wasn't afraid to stand up to bullies. He was pretty different from Iron Man.

Steve hadn't liked Iron Man for a while. He was just some rich jerk in a shiny suit. But one week when he had been really sick, Sam had brought over a whole bunch of comics for him to read. He started at Issue #1, and he couldn't put them down. Iron Man was smart and cool and funny. Iron Man had built his crazy powerful suit himself. In a cave!

Captain America was who he aspired to be. Iron Man... Steve blushed just thinking about him.

"You gonna play or just stare at it all day?"

Steve startled, and turned to find a boy smirking at him. He was a head taller with dark hair. He had on a denim jacket over a worn Queen band shirt, nice jeans and high top Chuck Taylors. Steve had seen him a lot around here, pockets full of coins to play as many games as he wanted. He'd seen him playing this game a whole lot.

Steve bit his lip. He looked down at the quarters in his hand.

"It's the best game in this place," the kid offered. "But you probably don't like a challenge."

Steve glared at him. "Yes I do."

"Oh yeah?" he grinned. "As if you could beat my high score."

Gripping his coins, Steve grabbed the little step stool in front of Wakanda Forever! and placed right in front of the Invincible Iron Man. He didn't let himself hesitate as he inserted the two quarters.

The kid leaned against the side of the game to watch him. He looked bored. He probably thought Steve wasn't gonna last a damn minute but he'd show him!

The Invincible Iron Man music started and a thrill shot up Steve's spine. The game started right at the beginning in the cave where Tony Stark was kidnapped. His first job was to get through the Ten Rings to freedom.

Steve mashed the buttons, one for punching and one for his repulsors. It took a while to get used to not needing a jump button. Iron Man could fly after all.

When Steve made it through the first ten levels and back to America, the kid who had been watching the whole time was leaning in, looking more invested as Steve started the race levels. Steve wasn't used to anyone watching him play, and it was a little distracting. The kid was so full of energy, jolting at every one of Steve's near misses. It made him anxious, but also so ready to show this kid how good he was.

"No, no! Keep to the inside!" the kid suddenly said.

Steve jerked the joystick to the left, and had a moment of panic that the kid just said that to make him crash, but he narrowly missed a huge whip that came from the right, taking out three cars.

When the started fighting the exploding pyro people, the kid was leaning in so far, he was almost knocking Steve off his stool.

"You gotta be more aggressive! You gotta keep blasting them!"

"I know what I'm doing!"

"You're letting them get to close. You gotta— BLAST THAT ONE!"

"I'M DOING IT!"

"THAT MIDDLE ONE! It'll start a chain—"

"I know!"

Steve managed to get all the way to the Mandarin before a huge blast from one of his rings zaps the last of his arc reactor energy. Steve groaned. He'd been so close!

"Put more quarters in!" the kid urged as the countdown started to continue.

Steve shook his head. "I don't have any more."

The kid looked at him like he was crazy before digging into his pocket and offering a whole handful of coins.

Steve stared at them wide eyed. It had to be two dollars worth of quarters! He wanted to snatch them all and shove them into the machine, but...

His mama always told him he couldn't rely on charity.

Steve shook his head as the countdown reached zero, and the game was over.

The kid groaned. "You got so far, dude. That was awesome."

Steve blushed, and looked back at the game. It congratulated him being the new 5th highest score. He wished it could be higher, but he was still proud of what he'd done. He nudged the joystick to put in the name he always used. C-A-P.

The kid gawked. "No way! You're Cap! You've got the high score on The First Avenger."

Steve blinked at him. He didn't think anyone really noticed. He blushed at the awed expression the kid was giving him, and climbed down off the stool.

The kid held out his hand, now empty after putting his quarters back in his pocket. "I'm Tony."

He took it. "Steve."

Tony beamed at him. "I can never get past the Zemo level. It always trips me up."

"You gotta keep low and only hit him when he lowers his guard."

"Eh," Tony said with a grin. "Not my style. I like to blast everything in sight."

Steve smiled back. "Yeah, I can see that."

"Hey, you wanna play Earth's Mightiest Heroes with me?"

Steve stared at him. No one had ever asked him to play with them before. He looked at the co-op game with longing. "I don't have—"

"Nope, I'm paying." Tony reached down to grab the stool before putting his arm around Steve and steering him towards the game. "Come on! You're doing me a favor. Everyone else sucks in the place. You're nowhere near as good as me, but I think you can at least keep up."

Steve rolled his eyes, but he was grinning. "As long as I can be Captain America."

Tony jostled him. "You got it, Cap."


End file.
